The professors Dignitas and the others would be going up against were Professor Wayne and Professor Robin.
They were both skilled in swordplay, with Professor Wayne reminding Dignitas of John if he was stronger, and Robin him if he was stronger.
Both of them taught the Physical Education Class, meaning they were the more "bulky" duo when compared to the other professors.
"So we just have to defeat those old crooks, right?" Alter asked as she began putting on her socks.
"Well, it's not that easy. They're both B+ rank, meaning they can easily overpower any one of us if they can single a person out." Dignitas replied.
"So we do just have to defeat them." Alter repeated her earlier sentence.
"No, it's not that eas–"
"So we do just have to defeat them."
Opening his mouth to speak, Dignitas replied. "You know what, you're right. We do just have to defeat them."
From the other side of the room, Rokas' spoke out. "I'm sure we can handle it, Leader. If everyone stays behind me, we can counterattack when they get tired."
"Oh, I can help too! Just say when, and I can help with disrupting their movement." Percivale made sure to add.
"Alright, guys. Let's get out there and show those professors we're a threat." Dignitas stood up.
***
The arena that was chosen by Professor Shib was the large patch of field behind the Academy. It was relatively empty at this time, as most students had already gone home or were busy with other things.
Elliott had left the moment the meeting with Shib was over. Dignitas did not mind though. He was here to see his teammates' improvement.
In the middle of the field, two professors were eagerly waiting. They were Professor Wayne and Robin.
The former wore a simple tracksuit that went over the shirt he had. The latter on the other hand was wearing full office attire, like the type you'd see from people who worked in accounting or as a lawyer.
"Hey, Robin. How much power should I use? Do I go like… twenty-five percent?"
"They're honor students. Does fourty seem okay?" Robin replied.
"Psh, they're just a bunch of kids. I'd be surprised if they can even catch me at fourty-percent."
"Well, we'll see. Look, there they are." Robin pointed to the group of students who had just exited from the back of the Academy and were now heading towards them.
When they reached them, they all took a slight bow. Then, without a word, they drew their weapons and got into their stances.
Professor Robin smiled. "Straight to the point. We appreciate that, but for the sake of it, we'll explain the rules."
"All you have to do is to either defeat us in battle, or impress us enough."
"Although, the second one seems more likely, if at all." Professor Wayne snickered.
"Ignore him. With that in mind, let us start. At the count of three, we shall start. Ready?"
Dignitas and the rest nodded.
"Good. One, two…three!"
The moment the word came out of Robin's mouth, the party took on a defensive formation.
With Rokas in the front, Dignitas in the middle, and Alter and Percivale at the back, it made for a formation that didn't allow attacks to get through.
"Now then, please allow us to learn from you both!" Rokas said, slamming down his shield.
The shield limited the teachers' view of the Eri siblings. They were the most powerful, but also the most vulnerable members of the party.
Meanwhile, Dignitas was at the middle. This way, he would be able to assist whichever side was in danger.
"A formation that makes sure all weaknesses are protected. Textbook play, but very effective. Well then, I'll leave this to you, Wayne."
"No need to tell me! I'll blow through that defense."
With a smile on his face, Wayne disappeared. A moment later, he reappeared to Rokas' side.
Sword in hand and held backwards, he drove the sword directly into Rokas' torso.
Which was what would've happened, had Dignitas not been there to respond.
With a deafening clang, Dainsleif met with the professor's sword.
Wayne laughed, slightly surprised. "You react fast. Points to you. But how will you go about protecting the others?"
Just behind Dignitas, Professor Robin had appeared. Right as he was about to swing his sword, Percivale released a handful of spatial mana in his direction.
The force of the spell sent his sword swerving in another direction, allowing Alter to retreat backwards and fire a more potent Chaos Orb at Robin.
"Near-instanteneous casting. Wonderful. But you have to take in mind the shaky structure of the spell." He commented.
As if slicing through butter, Professor Robin weakly swung his sword through the orb, dissipating it.
"You… here, take this!" Angered that her spell was destroyed so easily, Alter prepared to cast another.
"Do your thing, sister! I'll make sure you don't get hit." Percivale shouted.
Smiling, Alter replied. "I can always rely on you."
Bringing her palms together, she shot out a beam of Chaos magic.
The beam was small, but held more than enough mana to pose a threat to C rank monsters.
"A concentration of pure Chaos magic. Formed in less than a second, and astonishingly powerful." Robin commented as if he was analyzing it.
With a slight shift in his body weight, he was able to dodge the beam. Raising his hand, he fired a beam of ice from his palm.
The frozen concentration of Ice mana shot forward, slightly grazing Alter's shoulder as she recoiled from the impact.
"H-how… from a small graze…"
"Always take into account the unexpected. My Icicle Beam launches shards of pure ice at my enemies at speeds almost unseeable."
Imbuing his sword with his mana, Robin swung it downwards, thinking Alter was already out.
But instead, his sword was met with something else. Some kind of force had managed to stop his swing.
It was shaky, and felt as if it would give in at any moment, but it still managed to stop his sword.
"Running back and forth is already starting to tire me out. But I'm glad I made it." Dignitas sighed in relief.
Dainsleif's blade had collided with the professor's sword, and was somehow resisting the added portion of mana.
"Looks like the party leader has superb reaction time, along with the speed to move accordingly. But how long can you hold up against me in a pure sword battle?"
The only reason Dignitas had been able to react to Robin's swing was Death's Vision. Throughout the battle, he had been making sure to take small glances at the Eri siblings in order to make sure they were safe.
Their formation had already crumbled from the start. Two of their close-ranged fighters were facing off against one professor, leaving the ranged spellcasters to battle the other.
Dignitas turned to Percivale and shouted. "I've got this! Go help Rokas. Your Spatial Magic can help him!"
"R-right! I'll leave my sister to you, Sir Dignitas!"
Deep inside, Dignitas was glad that the siblings had started to trust him. Even if he hadn't done much since the entrance exam to please them, Percivale still respected him greatly.
He chuckled and made a vow to help them get stronger soon. They needed to face their pasts.
"Right… let's spice things up a notch. Please excuse my rudeness, Professor Robin. And you too, Alter. Don't worry, Shib already agreed to healing me the moment he accepted our offer earlier."
Alter recognized that tone. It only came up when Dignitas was planning on doing something reckless.
She raised her hand to stop him. "You're not doing that, you idiot!"
"Don't worry, it's not like I'm gonna die. It'll be a smaller blow."
Even Professor Robin knew what Dignitas was talking about. The entrance examination tournament had been watched by every faculty member.
"Let's try this. Induced adrenaline rush plus… Death's Vision: Self!"
At that very moment, Dignitas took Dainsleif and drove it straight through his left palm.
Its red blade pierced straight through his hand, making for a very bloody scene.
"You're crazy, Cadet Dignitas." Robin smiled.
"I've been told that many times. Thing is, I love craziness. I signed the paper, read the fine print and gave away my sanity the moment I chose to be involved."
He then turned to Alter, who was still shocked to silence.
Smiling, he said. "What? Are you gonna keep staying there? I'm gonna turn into a Wang Jin and annoy you if you do."
"You've truly lost it. I'm going to kill you later." Alter stood up, preparing Chaos mana in her palms.
"This is finally getting interesting. Come, then! I'll try a bit harder." Robin said as he began infusing his sword with even more dense Ice mana.
Crystals, each with sharp, barbed points surrounded the sword's blade, making it look like a saw with a handle.
"Listen here, Alter. You're the main star of this battle. I need you to be the one to impress the professors."
Being a Chaos magic user, Alter was already in the eyes of many teachers. Not to mention, outsider guilds. Their spies most likely already picked up data on many of the students and created very detailed profiles on them.
Dignitas needed his other teammates to get as strong as he would be, so that they could protect themselves.